Of Threads and Coats
by Alatus
Summary: After everything is unsaid and undone, re-said and re-done, life goes on, even if no one is sure anymore what was said or what was done. Deja Vu Tag. One Shot.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own / hold the rights to Steins;Gate. This is purely for entertainment purposes.

 **A/N:** Finally got to see the Steins;Gate movie. Over all, very enjoyable, though I wish there'd been a bit more of an epilogue. That's probably what inspired me to write this. Anyway, I hope you enjoy and thanks for reading!

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Saying it was a typical day at the lab was like saying Okabe wasn't a mad scientist. It just wasn't going to happen. This particular day of days had decided to pour rain, and maybe because of the rain, or some other horrible cosmic force that Kurisu wasn't aware of, she and the master of mad science were the only ones there.

She stared out the window at the downpour, trying to ignore the incessant prattle behind her. "And Lab Member Number Two is currently maintaining her cover, so that none are the wiser to our plans. As for Hack, his current location–"

Kurisu whirled. "Like I care!" she snapped, then winced. She hadn't meant to yell.

Okabe bounced away from her, his arm coming up protectively, not that she planned to take a swing at him. She huffed, trying to hide her embarrassment, before her eyes caught sight of his cuff. She sighed in exasperation. "You tore your coat again?"

He blinked, eyes going to his left shoulder. "Again?" he echoed, but she was still looking at his sleeve.

It dawned on them both at the same time, and then they were both looking at the other, neither quite sure what to say.

Kurisu turned away first, throwing out her hand. "Give it here," she ordered, not daring to look at him. Surprisingly he complied without comment, and maybe she should have taken that as a warning.

They sat in silence as she slowly started to sew up the tear. The same tear that she fixed up in the laundromat before he disappeared, and then undid when she leapt back in time to the party the night before. She wanted this new patch to last.

"Are you…?" he started, making her jump. She waited, needle poised. He did not continue.

Slowly she looked up from her work. "It's pink," she finished for him. He nodded, not at all surprised. "Don't expect much from the stitching, and…" she hesitated, because she hadn't said this last time, "Thanks, by the way, for the travel fork."

A half-choked sound escaped his throat. Surprised would be the best way to describe his expression, if not a little embarrassed.

"You–" he started, but he was apparently at a loss for words. She stared at him, not understanding, not until he reached into his pocket and tentatively pulled out the still wrapped present that she hadn't opened yet, not in this timeline.

"Oh," the sound escaped her soft and maybe even a little guilty. She stared down at her half finished sewing work, resisting the urge to press a hand to her forehead. "This is too confusing."

"How…" he swallowed hard. "How many times… did you jump?"

"What happens at eight o'clock?" The question tumbled out of her mouth and she winced. She hadn't meant to ask.

Okabe's shoulders tensed up, his hands curling into fists around the cloth of his pants, but it was the look in his eyes that made her feel the worst. It was the same look she had seen in his eyes when he had confronted that girl from the future and called her _part-time warrior_ , of all things. The same look he had when he told Kurisu _never_ to create a time machine.

She wondered if her eyes had looked that way after… her second trip into the past.

"Four times," she tried to tell him, but her voice wobbled, weak and quiet. Once with the phone microwave, twice with a time machine from the future, and finally one more time to draw him back onto their current world line. She pinched the sewing needle between her fingers but her hands were shaking too much to do anything with it. "Four times," she repeated louder.

A humourless sound that shouldn't be called a laugh escaped him. "I… I lost count."

She didn't know what to say to that. Rain clattered loudly against the building, and on the street below a car went by, its tires hissing in the growing puddles. She shuddered, trying to ignore it.

"I saw so many world lines," his voice was quiet, lacking the loud boisterous nature she had come to know. "And…" His hand came up, pressing against his forehead. She bit her lip. That gesture scared her more than she ever wanted to admit, but he didn't flicker, he didn't vanish. He was here, hopefully to stay. "Mayuri… died at 8 o'clock, but… I couldn't let that be." He looked up at her, carefully studying her face. "I guess I'm selfish like that."

She swallowed hard, because she knew what he wasn't saying. She was still standing here, after all, but then… so was he. "So am I," she found herself answering. She looked up, staring at him just as intently.

A smirk began to creep across his face. "Careful assistant, someone might think you're falling for me."

"Maybe I am." It embarrassed her to say it, but it was well worth the choked sound of surprise that escaped him. She focused back on her work, stitching the last bit of the cuff back together.

"Are– are we in agreement then?" he asked and she paused, looking at him questioningly, but his back was to her. When she made no answer, he cleared his throat, trying again. "No more time machines?"

She glanced back down at the lab coat, tying off the thread and cutting it. "After having experienced it," she began, carefully putting her needle and scissors away. "Yes." She snapped her sewing kit shut. "No more time machines." Though his back was to her, she did not miss the relieved sigh that escaped him. She shook her head, rummaging around in her bag, "Hey."

He turned, looking at her questioningly as she pulled out the still pristine lab coat in its sealed plastic bag. "Thank you for the travel fork," she said again, pushing the package across the table. His mouth dropped open slightly, expression almost a little awed, and even though she knew how he was going to react, it was wonderful to see it again.

Plus it meant she felt no qualms in reclaiming her travel fork. She'd missed it, after all, and… Okabe too.

 **END**


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